Using Cover Crops to Enrich Your Soil & Reduce Weed Pressure

Root nodules on an Austrian winter pea plant convert atmospheric N (N2) to plant available ammonia (NH3).

Austrian winter peas and triticale were used as a garden cover crop for 2 months in the spring.

In this class, soil scientist Gray Henderson explains how he uses cover crops planted both in the fall and spring to provide a fertility boost to his garden soil, increase organic matter and microorganisms, and reduce weed pressure. Next, Tony Klinkhammer, a local landowner who uses a number of innovative permaculture-based practices, explains how he has successfully used cover crops to get rid of noxious weeds on his 53-acre property near Moyie Springs.

Watch the recording:
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Recommended books:

Dirt to Soil: One Family’s Journey Into Regenerative Agriculture, by Gabe Brown.

Web-based resources and bulletins available online:

Building Soil for Better Crops, by Fred Magdoff and Harold van Es

Managing Cover Crops Profitably.  Third Edition.

Western SARE Learning Center Topic Room: Cover Crops

Cover Cropping for Pollinators and Beneficial Insects

Cover Crop Economics

Cover Crops for Home Gardens East of the Cascades – WSU

Methods for Successful Cover Crop Management in Your Home Garden –  WSU

Cover Crops for Grazing Use in Idaho – U of I

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service: Cover Crops and Soil Health